Cash-strapped shoppers are moving offline and shopping at discount stores like Primark and Matalan, mainly to save on delivery charges, according to a survey released this week.
Verdict Research's e-Retail 2009 report predicts online retail growth of 13.3% this year, to £20.9bn, but also had some interesting stats about how the recession is affecting online shopping habits.
The report suggests that C2s and DEs (skilled / unskilled working class according to the NRS grades) are deserting the web and looking to buy homewares DIY and clothing offline.
With finances squeezed by the recession, they are looking to discount stores such as Primark, Poundland and Matalan, and thus avoid paying delivery charges to shop online.
In addition, many well known discount retailers, including Primark and H&M are not selling online, while Matalan and TK Maxx have only just launched e-commerce sites, and still sell a limited range of products online.
However, this trend has been offset by other bargain hunters that have been turning to the web to get the best deal on items like electrical goods, which can frequently be found cheaper online.
This, and other stats from the survey, provides more compelling reasons for online retailers to offer free delivery as a sales driver.
In Verdict's survey, 28.5% of online shoppers said delivery charges were a problem, while 59.4% said it was an important consideration when deciding on a purchase.
Previous surveys have shown the importance of free delivery, such as these stats from Forsee Results which suggest that, as well as being a factor in deciding to shop at one website over another, it can also persuade people to switch online from offline.
The report predicts that, since retailers like Play.com, John Lewis and Amazon are offering some form of free delivery, others will eventually have to follow suit.
It is certainly one way to attract recession-hit shoppers who have to control their spending, and can also play a role in marketing campaigns, and even have SEO benefits, especially over Christmas.
Graham Charlton is Editor at Econsultancy. Follow him on Twitter or connect via Linkedin or Google+.
Senior Search Marketing Manager at Yell
10:09AM on 5th June 2009
Good post, sure delivery charges have an influence on what online shoppers buy, but when you consider going instore do these shoppers look at the cost associated with going instore, petrol for transport, parking, shoppers own physical time.
Marketing Manager at MICROS
10:23AM on 5th June 2009
I couldn't agree more. From a personal point of view the delivery charge always feels to me like a tax on online shopping. Yet in our Delivery Report last year we found that only 14% of UK online retailers offer free delivery on everything and most of them were in the entertainment sector - John Lewis is very much the exception. Free delivery can attract customers and convert visitors to buyers, there is no doubt about it. Retailers have to get clever - either with loyalty schemes like Amazon Prime, or by offsetting the cost of offering free delivery by charging more for express services, like Ebuyer.
The report is here - www.snowvalley.com/report